


Family

by fishfingersandjellybabies



Category: Batman (Comics)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-12
Updated: 2015-07-12
Packaged: 2018-04-08 22:08:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4322592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fishfingersandjellybabies/pseuds/fishfingersandjellybabies
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dick and Talia must present a united front to protect Damian.</p>
<p>It just so happened that the easiest front to present was as his mother and father.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Family

**Author's Note:**

> Haha, I hope this is what you meant, Anon. This one got away from me. Set in the scenario where Ra’s wanted to attack/kill Damian to have him as his vessel again. Instead of the rumble-tumble fighting, Talia takes a different approach in attempts to protect her son. Set over, let’s say, eight to ten months.

Dick looked down at Damian, who looked slightly sheepish, for once in his young life. He glanced back up at Talia. “…You’re not serious.”

“And why would I not be serious about the safety of my son?” Talia asked, crossing her arms. Unconsciously, Dick laid his arm against the back of the couch, fingers brushing against Damian’s shoulder.

“Yeah, but…”

“Beloved said he would deal with my father. All I had to do was take Damian and hide until we received his signal.” Talia sighed, rolling her eyes. Now Dick saw where Damian got it from. “My father will have people looking everywhere. I know what description they’ll have: single mother with young male child.”

“And what, me pretending to be his dad – your _lover_ or something – would put him off our trail?” Dick drawled. “I mean, I don’t like the guy, but I’ll give him credit where it’s due. Ra’s is _smart_ , there’s no way he’ll fall for that.”

“Perhaps not.” Talia confessed. “But are you telling me you’d rather not have a personal hand in keeping Damian safe? You’re just going to trust me with it on my own?”

Dick’s face darkened. “Like hell I am.”

“Good.” Talia perked. She walked around the coffee table and handed Dick a piece of paper, then moved towards the door. “This is the address to our townhouse. The movers will be there tomorrow.”

~~

“This is weird.” Dick muttered through a tight grin, waving at the man across the street.

“Yes.” Damian said from beside him, leaned back against the stoop. He was in shorts and a t-shirt.

“I’m your _dad_.”

“…Yes.”

“For all the neighbors know, I’m married to your mom.” Dick dropped his hand as the man went inside. “Oh my god, I married _Talia_.”

“From the outside, it looks that way.”

“This is weird.” Dick repeated.

“I agree.” Damian nodded with a sigh. He leaned forward, mimicking Dick’s posture of elbows on knees. “But I look at it this way.”

Dick glanced down at him.

“I’d rather you as my fake father than Todd. Or, god forbid, _Drake_.” Damian shivered. “Mother informed me they were both options if you had said no.”

Dick heard the real meaning behind the insult. He smiled, throwing an arm around Damian’s shoulders and hugged him to his side. Quickly, he kissed the top of Damian’s head. The next-door neighbor smiled and cooed as she and her Chihuahua walked by. “Thanks, kiddo.”

~~

Talia laughed and Damian wanted to hide under the table. That was her _I-will-destroy-you_ laugh. He knew it, and Grayson knew it, but the Petersons did not. They thought she was genuinely amused by their slightly racist joke.

He did not understand why Grayson had insisted on having the neighbors over. They were nosy, obnoxious, and gave very harsh glares when Colin came over to visit.

“Gotta keep up the persona,” Grayson explained, when he was helping him put on the very stiff, very _itchy_ , sweater that the woman next door had knitted for him. “Neighbors are friendly and have each over for dinner.”

Talia had cooked, and it was _delicious_. Damian found himself surprised that he didn’t know his mother _could_ cook. It was a shame she had wasted the skill on these…simpletons.

“Man, John.” Mr. Peterson – a fat, balding man – exclaimed, patting Dick on the shoulder. Of course, Damian had forgotten. They were John and Trina Blake. He was Dylan Blake. “That boy is going to look _just like you_ when he’s older.”

“Aw, jeez. I don’t know about that.” Dick laughed, taking another large swig of wine. “I think he’s going to look more like his mom.”

“Oh, I don’t know. He’s already got those sharp blue peepers. And the dark hair…” Mrs. Peterson pondered, rubbing Damian’s head. He quickly shoveled his fork into his mouth. “But he’s got Trina’s mind, no doubt. I bet you’re just a little mama’s boy, aren’t you, son?”

“Oh, he is.” Talia smiled. She reached out and patted his hand reassuringly. Their eyes met, and Talia’s looked amused. A real laugh, that only Damian could see. He relaxed his shoulders, and grinned back.

~~

“You have to tell him.” Talia whispered.

“Me? _Why?_ ” Dick hissed back.

“Because if _I_ tell him we’ve lost contact with Bruce, then he’s going to think that _I_ did something.” Talia returned. She turned her head and crossed her arms, eyes going blank. “He still doesn’t trust me, you know.”

“Well, do you blame him?” Dick sighed in exasperation. He ran his fingers through his hair. “Talia, come on. You know he loves you.”

Talia shrugged. “Still. _You_ should tell him.”

“How about we both tell him.” Dick reached out, gentling taking hold of Talia’s wrist. “It’s what real parents would do.”

Talia hesitated and looked up. Dick smiled encouragingly, so she nodded, letting him lead her down the hall to her son’s bedroom.

~~

Damian screamed so loud, Ms. Annie from next door called to check up on them before they could get to his room. By the time they opened the door, Damian was doubled over sobbing.

He clung tightly to Talia’s torso as soon as she was in range. His small hands here shaking as they grabbed at her robe. Softly, she petted at his hair, glancing up at Dick with concern.

“Hey. Hey, Damian.” Dick whispered, sitting on the other side of the bed, and reaching out to stroke Damian’s back. “It’s okay, bud. We’re here. What’s wrong?”

“Fa-father…” He croaked, but couldn’t seem to go on. He began shaking his head, almost as if he was trying to burrow into Talia’s chest. She tightened her embrace around him.

“Nightmares about Bruce?” Dick asked. Damian nodded once. “Same or worse than before.”

“Worse.” Damian sounded miserable, and he wouldn’t make eye contact with either of them. “Much, much _worse_.”

Talia looked up at Dick and mouthed, “Before?”

“Back when Bruce was lost in that time stream thing.” He said out loud. Realization dawned on Talia’s face right as she buried it in Damian’s hair, rocking him back and forth.

They sat with him for about an hour, before Dick made the executive decision that Damian was to sleep in their room that night. As it turned out, that was the first time of many.

~~

During one of these nights, they had finally calmed Damian down enough to sleep, and were on their way to it themselves, when Damian jerked awake again.

“Wha…what is it?” Dick mumbled, sitting up. He stared down at Damian’s wide eyes. “What’s up, Damian? What do you need?”

“Titus.” Damian answered solemnly. “I need Titus.”

Titus was too noticeable. And with Tim’s last transmission saying Ra’s coming to the city himself, too much of a risk. So Dick chose the next best option.

He moved slowly down the alleyway, hat low over his face. A few people glanced at him, but not many. They didn’t have the energy to pass judgment in a place like this. He was almost to the end of it, when he spotted a shock of long red hair. He was about to call out, when the ginger in question looked up.

Roy was grinning instantly. “Gotta say, man. That was probably the most fun secret mission I’ve ever been on.”

Roy stood and held out the carrier. Dick peeked in, and was greeted with the wide yellow eyes of Alfred. “You’re a lifesaver, Roy.”

“Don’t mention it. How is the kid anyway? Jaybird wants to know.”

“He’ll be better now.” Dick gratefully took the carrier, smiling at the faint mew from inside. “Any word from B?”

Roy’s smile faltered. “Not a one. And with Grandpa Grumpy Gills coming to town, you and Mom of the Year want to be ready to bolt at any second.”

“Great.” Dick sighed grimly. He held up the carrier. “Thanks again for this, Roy. Tell Jay I owe you guys one.”

Dick worried the whole way home. But it was all washed away when he walked in the door and Damian spotted Alfred. He doesn’t think the kid’s face had ever lit up so fast before.

There were no nightmares for over a month.

~~

They were in the park when Ra’s scouts showed up. Damian and Colin were feeding the ducks at the pond when four men started closing in on them.

Damian pulled Colin up by his jacket, and was deciding whether to run or fight when Talia appeared out of nowhere. At first Damian thought his mother would attack the advance guard, but instead she hoisted Damian up in one arm, and took Colin’s hand in hers.

“You can run fast, right boy?” She asked Colin. The ginger nodded quickly, easily keeping pace as Talia sprinted from the park. Damian looked back just in time to see Dick take their place in the fray, easily taking down their assailants. “Then you keep running, and you don’t stop until I tell you to, understood?”

~~

“My love, how many times have we told you?” Talia scolded, gently rubbing the disinfectant against the cut on Damian’s face. “You cannot start fights with the other children.”

“But _Mother_ -”

“It could blow our cover.” Talia cut him off. “And then you won’t be safe.”

Damian huffed, crossing his arms. “I can take care of myself.”

“Yeah, well. Excuse us if we don’t really jump at the chance to have you prove it.” Dick drawled coming back into the kitchen. Talia looked up expectantly. “Taken care of. Apparently Mr. Harris had no idea Freddie was harassing little Becca Miller down the street. You did good helping her out, Damian.”

Damian snorted, rolling his eyes. “I know I did.”

“Yes, you did very well.” Talia agreed, sticking the bandage against his face. Once she knew it was secure, she kissed it, then flicked Damian’s nose. “Now don’t do it again.”

~~

It was his birthday when the good news came.

They were in the backyard. Ms. Annie had insisted on baking Damian a cake, so of course Dick had invited her over to celebrate with them. Colin was there too, at Damian’s request. He knew his friend would never say no to red velvet.

They were laughing at something Ms. Annie said when there was a cough from the door. It was Bruce. He looked a little worse-for-wear, but it was him, in the flesh.

“Who on earth-” Ms. Annie started. Damian shifted to stand from the table, but Dick pushed him back down before following Talia to the house. The three adults went silently inside. About a half an hour later, Dick came back out, looking incredibly relieved. Colin kept Ms. Annie distracted as Damian rushed over to him.

“What is it?” Damian demanded. “What’s happened?”

Dick crouched and smiled, taking Damian’s elbow. “It’s over. You’re…you’re safe now, Damian.”

“What do you mean?”

“Ra’s was caught and trapped.” Dick exhaled, pulling Damian against his chest for a hug. “He can’t hurt you anymore.”

Damian paused, letting Dick squeeze him. He glanced at the door, and saw Bruce and Talia still standing at the island. Neither of them looked thrilled. “But…what happens now?”

“Now…” Dick breathed. “Talia’s going to need to take over the League, to make sure no one gets any funny ideas about following in your grandfather’s footsteps.”

“Oh.”

“And you…will go back to Bruce.” Dick finished. “Is that cool?”

“What about you?”

Dick shrugged. “I have no oppositions to sticking with you a little bit longer.”

Damian smirked. “I don’t have to keep calling you _Dad_ , do I?”

“Oh, god no. Never again.” Dick laughed. “Well…except for maybe right now. At least until Ms. Annie heads home.”

Damian was about to speak again when Talia stepped out of the door, Bruce right behind her. Talia moved over to he and Dick and smiled. “I have enjoyed caring for you again, Damian.”

“Me too, Mother.” Damian leaned around Dick, wrapping his arms around Talia’s waist. “You’ll write this time, won’t you?”

“I’ll do my best.” Talia nodded. “Who knows, maybe this winter, you and Beloved will-”

“Family photo!” Ms. Annie suddenly shrieked, jumping up from the table. “Family photo for the birthday boy!”

Bruce sniggered quietly, moving over to stand with Colin. Dick stood, one hand on Damian’s shoulder, the other on Talia’s back. Talia ruffled Damian’s hair as she leaned into Dick’s side. As Ms. Annie fiddled with her camera, Talia whispered, “Thank you, Richard. For helping me, for protecting Damian. For everything.”

“I should probably be thanking you, shouldn’t I? You were the breadwinner in this family.” Dick murmured with a joking smile. In the spur of the moment, prompted by the relief of victory, Dick turned his head and kissed Talia’s temple. At the same time, Dick heard the camera shutter click.

That picture, along with the redo a few seconds later, hangs on the corner of Damian’s easel in his bedroom, where he still looks at it every day.


End file.
